An infuential sourcebook for English writers of the 17th century, A Mirour for Magistrates "is a collaborative collection of poems in which the ghosts of eminent statemen recount their downfalls in first person narratives called tragedies or complaints, as an example for magistrates and others in positions of power...many contemporary dramatists - including Shakespeare - were inspired by its procedures for drawing lessons for the present from historical figures" (British Library). Indeed, Shakespeare even used A Mirour's method for constructing his own tragic poem The Rape of Lucrece, which used the story of Tarquin's assault on an innocent woman to warn powerful men against violations of hospitality and virtue. An incredibly important work on its own and for its impact on the English canon.